Periocular Contact Dermatitis

[watermelon]

I just got plugs in my eyes yesterday and the new doctor I saw said he thought a big problem for me was probably allergies based on the way my eyes and lids looked. Anyway, I know I am allergic to cats, dust mites, pollens and getting shots weekly for over a years now for them. It doesn't look like I am improving much on the dust mites but now have to decide whether to find new home for my 2 cats. If only I knew for sure if the cats are part of causing the problem.

I will have to look at the shampoos and conditioners as well as cosmetics to see if I can avoid the stuff listed in this thread as well.

As far as shampooing - why not just wash/condition hair over the sink instead of the shower and avoid it dripping in the eyes altogether to see if that helps? Or is it residue left on the hair after it's dried that still causes a problem?

[alisonW]

I've found a shampoo that doesn't contain the CB or any of it's derivitives. It's called: Free & Clear and is made for those with sensitive skin and scalp. I'm also hoping it will help all of us with sensitive eyes too.

Ingredients - Purified Water, Disodium Cocamphodiacetate, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Sodium Chloride, Cocamidopropylamine Oxide, PEG 150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate, Citric Acid, PEG 12 Dimethicone, Disodium EDTA, Potassium Sorbate

Some of those seem similar to cocamidopropyl betaine but according to this they are not.

"Other names you may see this chemical listed as:
Tegobetaine L7
Cocoyl amide propyldimethyl glycine
Coconut oil amidopropyl betaine
N-cocamidoprpyl-N,N-dimethlglycine hydroxide inner salt"

http://contactallergy.com/index.html

The shampoo can be purchased in the US at places like www.drugstore.com, www.dermadoctor.com, www.nationalallergysupply.com

I have just ordered it so will report back in a few weeks to see if it helps at all. I also bought the conditioner, hair gel, and Cetaphil Gentle Celansing Bar.

[magoo]

All of these ingredients that start with coca..... seem to be basically very similar. They are all surfactants and the "coca" beginning would indicate they come from coconut and/or are very closely related. Closely related enough to cause the same reactions, I think.
Cocamide DEA
Cocamide DEA/Nonoxynol-10
Cocamide MEA
Cocamidopropyl Amine Oxide
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cocamidopropyl Betaine (&) Ammonium Chloride
Cocamidopropyl Betaine (&) Potassium Chloride
Cocamidopropyl Betaine (Modified)
Cocamidopropyl Betaine-Ammonium Salt (Modified)
Cocamidopropyl Dimethylamine
Cocamidopropyl Dimethylamine Propionate
Cocamidopropyl Ethyldimonium Ethosulfate
Cocamidopropyl Hydroxy Sultaine
Cocamidopropyl Hydroxy Sultaine (&) Potassium

I use Free and Clear shampoo sometimes. It is drying so you need the conditioner to go with it. I have found this coca.... stuff in every shampoo so I try to keep it out of my eyes, without much success. Whatever shampoo or conditioner, even though my hair is short, it will get on the pillow at night and from there to my eyes.I have never been able to figure out if my shampoo bothers my eyes or not, but i try to do as much as possible "just in case".

If anyone knows of a shampoo without any of these allergens, please let us know. I wish Eucerin Co. would start making that shampoo for the U.S. market that skygoddess found in europe.

[eva b]

Organic shampoos have it also.
I noticed a difference as soon as I stopped using the shampoo and conditioners.
I did not notice the connection right away, I think it was because I also do not wash my hair every day, so some days were better than others

I needed a few days to get the reaction under control, with steroid drops, or azasite clears it up for me also, but as long as I stay away from the allergens I am doing well.

The only one I found without cocamidopropyl betaine is Eucerin Urea %5. Problem is you can only get it in Europe.
Ther are about two dozen names for it, so it slips in unnoticed.
My Dr gave me a list of shampoos with few allergens, and Neutrogena T-Sal was on it, I don't know for sure if it contains cocamidopropyl betaine, but it seemed to be OK. I found it at Rite Aid.

Hi skygodess,

sorry to rain on your parade...just came across this old thread...
looked up Eucerin, and two of the ingredients listed are sodium cocoamphoacetate, and coc glucoside. Both of these are derived from coconut, so although in a slightly different form, they are still going to have some coconut in them.

I have been doing a lot of research...nearly EVERYTHING (including supposedly hypoallergenic soaps) contains bloody coconut derivatives.

Just don't know where to go from here....

[magoo]

oooooooonoooooo it's in every shampoo then. the more i look at ingredient lists on all cosmetic products the more i see the dreaded prefix coca.

[alisonW]

This study makes me a bit more hopeful....

Maybe the derivitives won't be as hard on everyone's eyes.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16956456

I guess trial and error is the only way to know for sure.

[skygoddess]

I am not sure the derivatives are the problem. The Dr specifically singled out cocamidopropyl betaine .
The Eucerin %5 Urea states it is cocamidopropyl betaine free.
I have never seen any other shampoo claim that.
Hours and hours of reading labels have made me realize the names can be similar, but the chemicals are different altogether.

The betaine comes from beets. Not sure exactly why people react to it, but eyelid rashes are common.

Coconut oil can also cause rashes , but eyelids are not singled out as particularly troublesome.

[magoo]

Thank you, skygoddess and allison, I think you must be right about this because I just read the ingredients in Ocusoft Plus lid scrub, and it contains another ingredient which begins with "coco" and I'm sure it would not be in this product if it were a known irritant. I use this lid scrub and it seems to be soothing to my eyes. So, there ya go, managing DES requires a lot of trial and error and research (and luck)

[eva b]

I am not sure the derivatives are the problem. The Dr specifically singled out cocamidopropyl betaine .
The Eucerin %5 Urea states it is cocamidopropyl betaine free.
I have never seen any other shampoo claim that.
Hours and hours of reading labels have made me realize the names can be similar, but the chemicals are different altogether.

The betaine comes from beets. Not sure exactly why people react to it, but eyelid rashes are common.

Coconut oil can also cause rashes , but eyelids are not singled out as particularly troublesome.

Don't want to start an argument here, or anything, but somewhere down the line this information has got a bit mixed up. cocamidopropyl betaine is definintely derived from coconuts...don't know where the beet connection came in...I have this info from a very reliable alternative medical source. they do say, as some have already pointed out, that not all derivatives are as harmful as that one...eg cocamidopropyl hydroxy sultaine is milder (but more expensive, which I guess is why it's less often used)

However, what I did discover when I looked for the Eucerin shampoo in my local chemists, on reading the label, is that the main ingredient is sodium myreth sulfate!!!! almost as bad (and some say worse than) sodium lauryl sulfate....the foaming ingredient used in all "non-natural" shampoos - including baby shampoo. So if you got on with it OK, skygodess, you got very lucky. Personally, I would be scared to try it because of the SMS.

It really is dreadfully difficult to find anything without coconut derivatives in it, so one just has to hope that it's true that some are less damaging than others.

As if dry eyes weren't enough to cope with.....

[magoo]

The betaine component is the beet connection.

[skygoddess]

Thats correct.
All this actually only matters if you are allergic to the stuff.
I am.
Typically if you are, you get eyelid rashes.
I had $6,000 dollars worth of specialist allergy testing to come up with this info.
I only passed it on as a possible culprit for others with eyelid rashes.
You really need the contact testing to pinpoint exactly, but if you try eliminating it and get better,
well then you can save yourself $6,000.

BTW, Black rubber and acrylate are also some usual suspects.

[Royal Eyeness]

How incredibly helpful this thread is!
Wow, I just whacked myself on the head and said out loud, "How did I never think of that?"

I've been assuming that allergies are a big factor with my eyes for the longest time and I've read posts by Sky regarding contact allergies with great interest. But.....duhhhh....it never occurred to me that I have bangs! I wash and condition my hair every day! And my bangs definately come into contact with my eyes.

And I've had some sort of dermatitis on my forehead and "sideburn" area for the past 6 months. I never made the link that this is exactly where my hair touches my face. And I always have teeny peely skin "dandruff" along the base of my eyelashes, which I clean twice a day with a q-tip soaked with saline.

Thank you guys (gals) so much for pointing this out. I'm now on a quest for an allergen-free shampoo and conditioner.

[Bette40]

Ausrtailian Organics

And I am looking at my Austrailian Organics shampoo and conditioner which I bought because Paraben Free and...yes it contains Cocoamido Propyl Betaine. And I have only on the last six months developed eczema on my eyelids and neck. Will see what else is out there.

[Bette40]

An allergan free Shampoo?

http://www.faceproducts-online.co.uk...tID=36&CatID=1

Any one tried it?

[stella]

Try the body shop shampoos -all natural products